Impact
In yet another world premiere on the C-spot®... how many does this make now? About the same # as Hollywood stars -- too many to keep track.
Chocolate Gabon.
Been there / done that?
Just about no one has except Stéphane Bonnat.
Meanwhile, bloggers out in cyberland yum it up over another bar from Ecuabore, more bonbon awards, or chocolate-chip pancakes with mayo. Fed-up? Literally.
Though far from the most earth-shattering bar ever, this may be unique for another reason: a world dernier (or 'a world last') due to an extremely limited edition production (only 500 bars). Chances are slim that anyone will be seeing this in a nearby shop. If luck strikes, however, keep very quiet to prevent any panic runs on the bar & just buy it. (Precisely the M.O. of a very dedicated C-spotter™ who sent an encrypted memo before secreting this bar out of the country for review here to alert chocomanes everywhere).
The things humans will do for this stuff called 'chocolate'.
Chocolate Gabon.
Been there / done that?
Just about no one has except Stéphane Bonnat.
Meanwhile, bloggers out in cyberland yum it up over another bar from Ecuabore, more bonbon awards, or chocolate-chip pancakes with mayo. Fed-up? Literally.
Though far from the most earth-shattering bar ever, this may be unique for another reason: a world dernier (or 'a world last') due to an extremely limited edition production (only 500 bars). Chances are slim that anyone will be seeing this in a nearby shop. If luck strikes, however, keep very quiet to prevent any panic runs on the bar & just buy it. (Precisely the M.O. of a very dedicated C-spotter™ who sent an encrypted memo before secreting this bar out of the country for review here to alert chocomanes everywhere).
The things humans will do for this stuff called 'chocolate'.
Appearance 4.8 / 5
| Color: | deep mahogany |
| Surface: | clean slate (among Bonnat's best ever) |
| Temper: | buffed veneer |
| Snap: | a percussion instrument (rakatak; say loud 'n fast 3x to mimic the sound) |
Aroma 8.3 / 10
anticipation
a wood-chopper....
... waiting for the timber to fall...
one of those massive only-from-Africa hardwoods for floorboards in the homes of pro skaters & bladers with a chocolate-stained concourse
a wood-chopper....
... waiting for the timber to fall...
one of those massive only-from-Africa hardwoods for floorboards in the homes of pro skaters & bladers with a chocolate-stained concourse
Mouthfeel 12.7 / 15
| Texture: | tough "shell" until about midway thru when it... |
| Melt: | ... lazes into a ganache |
Flavor 44.8 / 50
butter-wax-rubber-gum Arabic -> Irvingia gabonensis aka “bush mango” whose dezz nuts, when ground into paste, are called dika break or Gabon chocolate -> chicory into black mission fig territory -> wafers -> banana (leftovers from the butter FXs) -> peaks on a spice hit (cardamom + a li'l tarragon Française, babé, +
"grains of paradise" [a warm, spicy West African seed]) / wood plank beneath -> wraps around cocoa walnut-bark
Quality 16.2 / 20
Pretty much a straight-shooter but with some wondrously soft spice accents which some alpha-tasters mistake for non-African origins. Wise choice by Bonnat to omit vanilla; no need really for it would've overwhelmed the already hushed spices that this bar naturally inheres.
Bonnat applies less than his normal roast while giving it his standard butter treatment that massages this into one of those rare quiet Africans.
And while it lacks the magnitude & special quality of truly great chocolate, there's nothing wrong here either.
Just the opposite: it'll gitcha Gabon-bons on.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter
Reviewed May 16, 2013
Bonnat applies less than his normal roast while giving it his standard butter treatment that massages this into one of those rare quiet Africans.
And while it lacks the magnitude & special quality of truly great chocolate, there's nothing wrong here either.
Just the opposite: it'll gitcha Gabon-bons on.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter
Reviewed May 16, 2013